The following article is a revised version of one that first
appeared in the Winter 1998 issue of On Point.
It is reprinted here by permission of the Army Historical Foundation.

To most Americans, San Juan Hill conjures up images of Teddy Roosevelt
and his Rough Riders dashing up the hill to victory, but other soldiers
also played an important role in driving the Spanish off the heights overlooking
Santiago, Cuba. One such soldier was 1st Lt. John J. Pershing,
the quartermaster of the 10th Cavalry, the famed "Buffalo Soldiers."
Pershing's experiences in Cuba gave him important battlefield experience
and showed him how an army at war behaves. This would pay off when Pershing
led the American Expeditionary Forces into battle on the fields of France
in World War I, less than twenty years later.

As tensions heated up between the United States and Spain, Pershing
was teaching tactics at West Point. Desperate to join the action he foresaw
as inevitable, he bombarded the assistant secretary of war, George Meiklejohn,
with letters. Realizing the importance of combat duty, he wrote, "if I
should accept any duty which would keep me from field service, indeed if
I did not make every effort to obtain an opportunity for field service
I should never forgive myself."1

Pershing was not totally unprepared for battle. An 1886 graduate of
West Point, he had seen duty against the Plains Indians with both the 6th
and 10th Cavalry Regiments. The 10th was one of two
black cavalry regiments commanded by white officers. Pershing was called
"Black Jack" in reference to his service with the10th, and the
nickname stuck long after he left it. Pershing had also taught military
tactics and mathematics at the University of Nebraska and earned a law
degree there.

Unfortunately for Pershing, when the battleship Maine exploded
in Havana harbor on 15 February 1898, the secretary of war froze all West
Point instructors in their jobs. Undaunted, Pershing realized the only
way into combat was to be requested for duty by a line unit. He wrote to
Col. Guy V. Henry, the commander of his old unit, the 10th Cavalry,
asking to rejoin it. Henry wrote to the War Department requesting that
Pershing be assigned to the unit as regimental quartermaster. Pershing
soon showed up at Meiklejohn's office to press for approval. When Pershing
told Meiklejohn "I shall resign and join some National Guard or volunteer
unit that stands a chance of being sent to Cuba," the assistant secretary
relented and approved orders for Pershing to rejoin the10th.2

Pershing found his unit in training at Chickamauga, Georgia, and moved
with it to the port of Tampa, Florida, from where it would sail for Cuba.
The 10th was part of Brig. Gen. William R. Shafter's Fifth Corps,
whose mission was to capture Santiago, where the fleet of Spanish Admiral
Pascual Cervera lay at anchor. Shafter, a veteran of the Civil War and
Indian fighting, had grown soft and fat in his sixty-three years and was
overwhelmed by the task of preparing his force. Confusion reigned in Tampa,
where thousands of Regular Army and volunteer soldiers prepared to leave
with little semblance of order. The 10th Cavalry and other elements
of the dismounted Cavalry Division were assigned space on the Leona,
a coastal merchant ship pressed into military service. Loading the ship
was conducted without incident, and the Leona set sail with thirty-one
other transports on 14 June 1898.

The trip went badly. In addition to the Leona's becoming separated
from its convoy for nearly a day, the men below decks became seasick and
hungry. Their woolen Army uniforms were ill suited for the tropical climate,
much less existence in a hot, cramped ship's hold, and there were no cooking
facilities aboard ship. Unpalatable field rations were the only food available.
Finally, on 22 June, the 10th Cavalry disembarked at Daiquirí,
thirteen miles east of Santiago. There were no port facilities, and small
boats were used to move the men as close to shore as possible. Many men
had to jump from the boats carrying their equipment and wade to shore.
Two men drowned during the transfer. The next day, while Pershing stayed
on board to supply materiel to an insurgent Cuban unit, squadrons of the
10th, the 1st Cavalry, and the 1st Volunteer
Cavalry (Rough Riders) clashed with Spanish units at Las Guásimas,
then drove the Spanish from their defenses inflicting heavy casualties.
The 10th lost one man killed and ten wounded.

Pershing longed to be with his men, but the Leona was ordered
west to pick up 1,000 ragged Cuban rebels of General Calixto García's
command who had been fighting the Spanish. Pershing was not impressed with
the insurgent fighters: "A miserable lot they are, in my opinion they will
prove of little service to the Americans."3

The next day, leading a pack mule laden with supplies, Pershing caught
up with his encamped regiment. To his chagrin, he found that the men had
earlier thrown away all but their most essential gear and they were now
hungry and without shelter. He spent the next five days traveling the narrow
jungle trails, bringing up supplies, no easy task considering the confusion
on the beaches where only the efforts of individual officers had brought
"at least the semblance of order."

The confusion taxed many men's patience but not Pershing's. When one
officer complained about the supply problem and that "fat old slob" Shafter,
Pershing confronted the complainer and scolded "Why did you come to this
war if you can't stand the gaff? War has always been this way. . . . The
fat Old Man you talk about is going to win this campaign. When he does
these things will be forgotten. It's the objective that counts, not the
incidents."4

By 30 June, enough troops had been landed to begin the advance on Santiago.
The 10th moved with its division to within five miles of the
city where it set up camp on a hill near the old hacienda of El Pozo, waiting
for the other divisions to arrange themselves. A half mile northwest of
his position Pershing spied his division's objectives, "the dark lines
of masked intrenchments and the mysterious blockhouses of the hills of
San Juan."5 Beyond that he could glimpse Santiago's strong defenses.
He knew the task laid out for the Army would not be easy. No fires were
allowed that night, and pickets went out to watch for the enemy.

About 8:00 on the morning of 1 July came the crash of artillery, first
American, followed by Spanish. For forty-five minutes the duel continued
with the Americans getting the worst of it. Their black powder guns poured
smoke, revealing their positions, while the Spanish guns, using smokeless
powder, remained hidden. Near Pershing, a Hotchkiss gun exploded, wounding
two troopers. The frightened Cuban insurgents who were with Pershing fled.

As the barrage subsided, the Americans started down the ridge and moved
forward along a jungle path. Lt. Col. Theodore A. Baldwin, commanding the10th,
ordered Pershing to act as a guide for the regiment, making sure it found
its objectives and kept an orderly advance. The task was difficult; scattered
artillery and rifle fire rained down as the men mixed with elements of
the 71st New York Infantry along clogged roads inadequate for
such large numbers. Pershing could do little but sit on his horse and shout
orders to the men. Then to make matters worse, an observation balloon was
sent up above the advancing column, drawing fire and revealing the American
route of approach. The Spanish soon concentrated their fire on the area
around the balloon, whose observer responded by telling the troops below
that the Spanish were firing on them. Pershing and his cavalrymen were
decidedly unimpressed by this intelligence.

Pershing, along with three other officers from the brigade, was posted
in a stream bed where he dismounted to better urge the men forward. Standing
in waist-high water, he led one squadron after another forward through
exploding shells and intense Mauser fire. As he ran back and forth bringing
up squadrons, he spotted Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, the division commander,
and his staff, mounted on their horses in the middle of the Aguadores River.
As Pershing saluted, a shell landed between the two men, drenching them
both with water. Wheeler returned the salute, wheeled his horse around,
and left.

Enemy fire intensified, and panic ensued as men fell everywhere. Eventually,
by continually running back into the jungle, finding lost groups, and guiding
them forward, Pershing managed to get the 10th across the river.
During the action he was continually exposed to enemy fire. One officer
who appreciated Pershing's efforts to organize the men under fire commented
that "the gallant Pershing . . . was as cool as a bowl of cracked ice."6

As the men of the division waited at the edge of a wooded area below
the two American objectives, San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill, they began
taking more fire. Spanish snipers, in their elevated position, had a clear
shot at any cavalryman who stood. Casualties mounted, a half-hour passed,
and still no orders arrived to attack. Finally, 1st Lt. Jules
Ord of the 6th Infantry decided that he had had enough. Shirtless,
with a bayonet in one hand and a pistol in the other, he yelled to his
men, "Follow me, we can't stay here." Ord's charge energized the Rough
Riders and parts of the 10th to join the attack. Pershing was
amazed and proud at what he saw: "Each officer or soldier next in rank
took charge of the line or group immediately in his front or rear and halting
to fire at each good opportunity, taking reasonable advantage of cover,
the entire command moved forward as coolly as though the buzzing of bullets
was the humming of bees. White regiments, black regiments, regulars and
Rough Riders, representing the young manhood of the North and the South,
fought shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of race or color, unmindful of whether
commanded by ex-Confederate or not, and mindful of only their common duty
as Americans."7

The men waded across the San Juan River and rushed forward, slowed only
momentarily by a barbed-wire fence, which most chose to climb under. In
the confusion the men of the 10th divided themselves between
Ord's 6th Infantry charging up San Juan Hill and Roosevelt's
Rough Riders attacking Kettle Hill. Pershing found himself with the Rough
Riders, running up the exposed slopes of Kettle Hill. It was quickly taken.
In the last push to the top he saw the Spanish fleeing their positions
and heading for Santiago.

Pershing had a perfect view from Kettle Hill of the ongoing fight for
San Juan Hill. Realizing how tenuous it was, he, and the other men on Kettle
Hill, rushed forward to assist. There they struggled against the worst
fire Wheeler, a Confederate Civil War veteran, had ever seen. Despite the
enemy salvos, the men pushed forward, assisted by the timely arrival of
a few Gatling guns brought forward for the attack. A battle yell went up
along the American line. After a final, brief American artillery barrage,
the troops made a final lunge for the top. Ord, with the help of the 10th
Cavalry, was the first American to reach San Juan's summit, where he was
immediately killed by enemy fire.

The victory was not without its price. Dead and wounded men lay all
over the hill. The 10th Cavalry lost half its officers and roughly
20 percent of its men. Pershing came upon a wounded officer and asked him
if he was badly hurt. "I don't know," he replied, "but we whipped them,
anyway, didn't we?"8 Pershing also was witness to the moral
character of his men when he saw a Buffalo Soldier stop at a trench filled
with Spanish dead and wounded, gently lift the head of a wounded officer,
and give him the last drops of water out of his canteen.

Although driven from the heights of San Juan, the Spanish had not surrendered.
At 3:00 a.m. their artillery again opened up on the American positions
as small arms fire picked up. The men of the 10th manned their
posts and waited for the expected counterattack, but none came. By 5:30
in the morning the firing began to slacken. Just before dawn, entrenching
equipment and ammunition arrived, but no food for the hungry victors. As
the sun rose, Spanish snipers began firing at anything that moved. When
a sniper bullet wounded the regiment's adjutant, Colonel Baldwin placed
Pershing in the position. The rest of the day, while both sides traded
fire, Pershing delivered messages to the front and ran the regiment in
Baldwin's absence. The conditions for the men were miserable. Some soldiers
formed a bucket brigade from the front trenches to a watering hole a mile
to the rear. Front-line soldiers tore off their heavy woolen shirts in
the hot air, and soldiers who had a simple frying pan and fork became the
envy of the regiment.

The firing continued into the next day, but actions farther afield most
heartened the American soldiers. About 9:00 a.m. on 3 July, men heard heavier
explosions reverberating from the south of Santiago. It was the guns of
Rear Adm. William Sampson's U.S. fleet routing Admiral Cervera's Spanish
squadron as it attempted to flee from Santiago. Like their navy, the Spanish
troops in Santiago could neither flee nor survive. General Shafter sent
a message of truce to Santiago. He initially gave the Spanish until 10:00
a.m. on 4 July to surrender or American ground and naval artillery would
shell the city. This deadline was later extended.

During the truce, the men of the 10th continued to strengthen
their positions. While the soldiers worked, Pershing read to them two messages
of commendation; one from President William McKinley and the other from
Maj. Gen. Nelson Miles, the commanding general of the Army. Miles said
that he would arrive in Cuba soon with reinforcements. The men exulted
in Miles' promise. Soon after, Cuban refugees from the city, hoping to
escape the expected bombardment, began to cross into the American lines.
Pershing was moved at what he saw:

"Old and young, women, children and decrepit men of every class—those
refined and used to luxury, together with the ragged beggar—crowded each
other in this narrow column. It was a pitiful sight; from daylight until
dark the miserable procession trooped past. The suffering of the innocent
is not the least of the horrors of war."9

As the truce lengthened, Shafter kept up the verbal pressure on the
Spanish while his men advanced their siege trenches and living conditions
worsened. The rainy season began, drenching the men and filling their trenches
with water. The Americans started coming down with malaria and yellow fever.
Pershing was no exception. Soon he was wracked with malarial fever, but
this merely slowed him down. Traveling back to a supply depot, Pershing
bargained successfully for a wagon which gave him the means to bring his
men food, bed rolls, tenting equipment, medical supplies, and cooking utensils.
Pershing was everywhere obtaining gear. He visited docks, depots, and any
place else where he thought he could find some comforts for his men. He
made a special effort to bring up personal baggage to front-line officers.

Spanish authorities soon realized the situation inside Santiago was
hopeless, and, with permission from his government in Madrid, General de
División José Toral agreed on 15 July to surrender the city.
The formal capitulation took place on 17 July 1898. After General Toral
handed his sword to General Shafter, the American troops were drawn up
in a line along their six miles of trenches to witness the raising of the
Stars and Stripes above the government palace in Santiago. At exactly 12:00
noon, a cheer went up from the American lines as artillery boomed a salute.
The campaign was over.

First Lt. John Pershing had excelled in his role during the Santiago
campaign. He led troops, filled in for fallen officers, braved enemy fire,
and kept his men well supplied. Officers who witnessed his actions were
quick to praise. Colonel Baldwin, his regimental commander, wrote Pershing:
"You did some tall rustling, and if you had not we would have starved.
. . . I have been through many fights and through the Civil War, but on
my word —you were the coolest and bravest man I ever saw under fire in
my life and carried out your orders to the letter —no matter where it called
you." But the greatest praise Pershing received came from Brig. Gen. Leonard
Wood, newly appointed military governor of Santiago, who wrote to the adjutant
general of Pershing's accomplishments. The letter was passed to President
McKinley who wrote on it: "Appoint to a Major, if there is a vacancy."10

During his seven-day cruise back to the United States in August, Pershing
reflected on what he had learned. He had found the fighting spirit of American
soldiers excellent, even among the volunteers. As long as men were moving
forward their confidence rose; sloth and disease set in only when the troops
halted. Keeping units together instead of splitting them up also helped
maintain esprit de corps. Pershing also realized that weapons had
to be upgraded to include smokeless rifles and artillery; and old commanders
would have to be replaced with younger, more agile men. The greatest problem
facing the Army, however, was supply. If the Army could not keep supplies
coming forward it could not succeed in battle. Pershing focused his complaints
in this sphere on civilian staff who lacked the competence needed in wartime.
"Good commissary and quartermaster sergeants or clerks would have been
infinitely better and more deserving," he concluded.11 Lessons
Pershing learned during the Spanish-American War were invaluable. He would
draw on them two decades later when he led the largest overseas American
army into battle on the fields of France.

Kevin Hymel is research coordinator with the Cowles History Group
in Leesburg, Virginia..